Another step in the right direction

Photo available. On Wednesday, 11 June 2008 at 10am children and staff from Thames View Infant School joined Brake, the road safety charity, in an attempt to smash the world record. The charity hoped to get around 200,000 children taking part in short walks as part of supervised ‘walking buses’ and learning essential road safety lessons on the way. The children used safe routes around their school to break the world record for the biggest simultaneous walking bus. Su Negus, Principal Road Safety Officer for Medway Council, said: "We are excited that yet another of Medway's schools is encouraging their children to walk and will reap the multitude of benefits it brings including reducing congestion outside of the school and introducing healthier lifestyles." This is the fifth year running for the Record-Breaking Walking Bus. The event also aimed to raise awareness among drivers of the need to slow down and ‘Watch Out There’s a Kid About’. Every 20 minutes, a child is hurt or killed on foot in the UK and most children are injured on the journey to or from school. 40% of primary pupils are driven to school, mostly short distances. Declining numbers of children walking or cycling means more obesity and increased traffic danger. Portfolio Holder for Frontline Services, Cllr Phil Filmer said: “The number of children using the walking buses has now reached 600 in the Medway area and I am delighted to see the campaign being embraced by Thames View Infant School in such a positive way.” For more information: http://www.brake.org.uk/index.php?p=503 or contact Medway Council's Road Safety Team.